Remember
September 11, 2001
Never Forget.
It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years.
Where were you on September 11, 2001? Sadly, it’s one of “those” days–the kind that you forever more remember where you were, what you were doing, when you heard the news.
- I remember what an incredibly gorgeous day it was. Perfect temperature, perfectly blue sky. Just a stunning, almost-autumn day.
- I remember one of my co-workers running up the hallway. “A plane hit the World Trade Center!”
- I remember thinking that she must mean one of those little, commuter planes, and wondering how that could happen on such a clear day when you could see for miles.
- I remember the total disbelief when I heard there were TWO. And another one at the Pentagon. And in the fields of Pennsylvania.
- I remember calling my parents. “Do you have the television on?”
- I remember not being able to do anything at work, because not a single one of us could concentrate on anything, and with an office television, we spent the day sharing news gleaned from various radios.
- I remember having the hardest time getting through to my mother on the phone.
- I remember being on the phone with her, listening to her tell me the first tower had fallen. “What do you mean, fell? The whole thing?” “YES, it’s GONE.” And then hearing her when the second tower came down.
- I remember driving home at lunch and looking at everything with extra clarity–if anything, it was clearer and more stunning a day than it had been.
- I remember that there were suddenly American flags everywhere.
- I remember walking up the road with my mom and my baby-puppy Chappy to see where the towers used to be–about 35 miles from here–because I couldn’t believe they were gone until I saw it myself.
- I remember the size of the plume of smoke, which spread halfway across the horizon.
- I remember thinking that life was about to change.
For so many reasons, it’s important that it DOES change. We cannot let that day be forgotten. Not just for the horror, and for all the pointless loss of life … and we should never, ever forget the loss of life (both that day, and from soldiers in war, and civilians to health complications since).
But we also need to remember that that was a day when we all stood together. United, one nation under God. Knowing that we had to show a united front, that incidental political and social differences were insignificant compared to what had just happened.
Remember how good that felt? Knowing that we could depend on each other? That we had friends all over the world who were on our side? That feeling that, with that kind of moral support, that kind of stand-together strength, there was nothing we could not do?
Always, always remember.
Photo from here and just too, eerily perfect, since it looks like the sun is shining straight through.
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Tannenbaum.
House Calls
And, that also is why the stories of each generation must be passed down. History shouldn’t repeat itself, but we are a vain and self-absorbed species that seldom heed the warnings of our elders.
Being on the west coast and not an early riser, I was still in bed. My husband was getting ready for work, but I was working a part-time job that started at noon, so I was trying to sleep through his alarm (the radio). I heard them say a plane hit the tower. I, too, assumed it was a commuter plane. DH asked if I wanted the radio left on, but I wanted to sleep. I said, “No, they won’t know anything for a while, anyway.” He looked at me kind of funny — they must have said more on the radio than I had taken in — but turned it off. I think he turned on the radio or tv in the living room, and then he went to work.
Eventually, I woke up, and went to find out what had happened. At that point, the towers had just fallen. I was stunned. And alone in the house with no one to talk to.
I was living in San Francisco. My husband’s boss called us just after 6am, just about the time the second plane hit, to tell him not to come in, as he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to get to work, and rumors were flying that it could be a West Coast target. Once all the planes were grounded, my husband’s boss called back to ask why he wasn’t in yet (he was certifiable).
My father was on his way to the Treasury building in DC for a meeting when the plane hit the Pentagon, and ended up having to walk about 5 miles through the city as the streets were in gridlock. My Mom was freaking out because she had no way of knowing where he was or if he was OK (no cell phone then). He finally found a working phone line 5 hours later and called me, not being able to get through to my Mom. He was in shock.
Sept. 16th just before sunrise, I flew directly over Ground Zero headed into JFK on a red eye. I will never forget looking out my window, the rescue workers’ lights glaring up through the continuing tower of smoke. Nor will I forget the tears streaming down the stone face of our (male) flight attendant leaving JFK for Providence a few hours later. Both American flights.
In hawaii we were 5 hours behind the east coast. So even with my waking up early the second tower had just gone down. I had turned on the tv and gone into the kitchen to make hubbys and my espresso. Dan rather was speaking and i remember thinking, did i just hear him right? i had to walk back into the living room to see, and it was surreal. You thought you were watching something from a movie. Of course just then they started calling all military in with words of ” bring your gear, we may be awhile”. It was my second day on a new job where i had to visit the commissaries on each military base on island. Needless to say hubby was gone nearly a week and we did not report to work for a week as the lines to get on base were huge! It still seems a bit unreal today. Later when i worked for United they said 600 phones in a room had never been so quiet that week after, in a very creepy, sad way.
.-= Tanya´s last blog ..Want to be a Shephardess??? =-.